To wonder what you do when you earn too much to qualify for any benefits

[stangel]

But outgoings don’t add up?

Giving serious thought to having a child: monthly income is £2400. Bit mortgage and nursery fees wipe out £2000 of that leaving £400 for bills, food and petrol.

It doesn’t add up, does it?

So have a child and palm them off in Nursery full time, or look after baby yourself. Lots of woman manage.

@YouBumder then don't have kids then !

£45kpa for one person is less net than £45k pa joint as you only get one lot of (£12k from April) tax free allowance. If two people earn £23k each then they each have £12k tax free and only pay tax on £11k each, so £22k total.
The single £45k earner pays tax on £33k.

The take home is what matters.

The OP has apparently had £1,400 to live on after mortgage - so presumably has some savings? If they have been unable to save at all on that then no, they will not be able to live on it after £1k pm is allocated to child care.

The usual options:

reduce outgoings (change mortgage is the obvious one, has to be done while still working, cheaper child care etc)
increase incomings (ask for pay rise? change job? take a lodger? double check how tax credits work. add in the child allowance. sell some stuff now to get a buffer pot?)

Also as a PP said, live on that £400 now, save the £1k and see how it feels. Do that for 6m then try for the pregnancy if it has worked OK. By the time the baby comes you'll have £15k towards the things you need and topping up mat pay.

Surely one does not wake up one morning thinking "I need to have a baby, today, can I afford it, oh no, it's so unfair" - surely one knows they might want to have a baby one day and plan and save for that? Or save for any other reason?

It does actually sound doable to me, if it is wanted desperately enough.

Reading through the thread with utter shock how those who clearly cannot afford hefty mortgages then complain how much they are struggling on an income most people an only dream off! Live within your means!

The high childcare costs are temporary - not sure of your situation and what you’d get in terms of maternity pay but if you can take off a year then you’ve only got two years of full time nursery to pay for before the free hours kick in the term after they’re 3 and then your bill is massively reduced. Looking at it as a fixed amount to pay over x years is a lot less daunting then x a month indefinitely. You could extend your mortgage, remortgage etc to cover those costs if you have enough equity. I had twins unexpectedly which is something I never expected and hadn’t planned for financially - they’re 2.5 now and actually not that expensive but I only earn a pittance due to working extremely part time.

It’s worth figuring out if you could go part time to reduce your income to a point where you’d save on childcare and get some tax credits assistance towards childcare.

You would also get child benefit and if you really pay £1k in childcare, I would think you also get help with childcare. There are also childcare vouchers (or whatever this scheme is called now). So you would have some extra money coming in from child benefit and be able to save cash on childcare.

Also, childcare is temporary.

Other than that reduce your outgoings. Don't know your lifestyle but with a DC, priorities change, you go out much less... you may give up other hobbies etc you have.

I think with some planning it is definitely doable.

We’ve got a similar joint income to you op and we qualify for tax credits to help with childcare costs, and we got a bit more when I was on mat leave, we also get child benefit.

We have had to borrow a little bit on a 0% credit card because our income doesn’t quite cover our outgoings and we didn’t want to spend our weekends sitting in the house doing nothing and not having any holidays (we just have a week camping ) but we can easily pay it back once we’re not paying nursery fees.

@NameChanger22 even on that basis you work part time and have no housing costs, you have £1000 to live on and cover bills the OP has £400

We live in the SE on around £30k, 2 kids. As others have said if you want a child its doable but your lifestyle and expectations will have to change. But then you will be a single parent to a small child so its not like you will have a much of a social life anyway - having kids actually saves money in lots of ways!

I had a baby alone using a donor. I earn much less than you and only claim Child Benefit. My family do help me with DD, and I admit that I’d find it very tough to look after her completely on my own, especially as she’s not quite a year old.

My mortgage is very small, partly because my parents helped me out with the deposit and partly because I’ve been overpaying the mortgage every year by 10% (paying more would incur early repayment charges). My place was also relatively cheap as it’s small, in an unfashionable part of town and the decor and fixtures are rather tired and dated.

I’m going back to work soon and have found a lovely childminder who charges much less than the local nurseries. I think DD will be happier there as she’ll be in a “home from home” environment with only a few other children and one consistent carer.

I can’t really give anyone financial advice, but I don’t think there’s an ideal time to have a baby. I stayed in a boring job partly for the maternity benefits, only to be made redundant as I waited to start my fertility treatment!

A friend of mine, who also had a baby on her own with a donor, reluctantly sold her flat to pay for the treatment. She has been renting ever since. I would have hated to do that, but she told me she had to decide what was most important to her. That’s very true.